Russian officials raided ATR, an independent Tatar Crimean television station on January 26. The deputy director said the men took equipment and tapes, which basically shut down all operations. Russians have consistently targeted the Tatar minority since Moscow annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014.
Measles outbreak being blamed on the ‘anti-vaccine movement’; Russians re-invade Ukraine, targeting Mariupol port city; Yemen appears to be further destabilizing after president Hadi’s resignation; U.S. policy in Yemen affected by Houthi takeover
Yevgeny Savostyanov, head of Russia’s Coordination Council on Intellectual Property Protection, quit after he witnessed a major crackdown on cultural “matters of public interest” within Russia. He criticized Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky in an open letter before he left.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a treaty with South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia, that will effectively annex the region to Russia early next week. The Treaty of Alliance and Integration allows Moscow to control its foreign policy, border, and security.
Russia is on a long-term holiday that started two weeks ago and ends on Monday, January 12. At that time, the banks and the stock exchange will reopen, and it’s feared that both the ruble and the Moscow stock exchange will fall sharply.
The Russians have a few nicknames for America and her citizens. America is referred as “Pindostan” and the citizens are called “pindoses.”
Ukraine cut power and cancelled trains to Crimea as Visa and Mastercard announced the company will not process business cards due to sanctions from the West.
ISIS urged Muslims in Western countries to kill “in any manner” those involved in a coalition fighting ISIS, singling out the French.
